Supreme Court Concerns on Voter Privacy
The Supreme Court expressed worries about the potential privacy risks associated with making the voters’ list available in a machine-readable format, which could expose it to data mining by third parties. The Court explored solutions like password-protected access for individual voters to view their data securely.
Key Issues Raised
- Privacy Concerns: Justice Joymalya Bagchi highlighted issues regarding individual privacy and the collective protection of data, emphasizing that the electoral roll data is a valuable asset held in trust by the Election Commission (EC).
- Machine-Readable Format: Advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that providing the voters’ list in a machine-readable form should not cause prejudice, asserting that large resources could convert the list regardless.
Supreme Court's Suggestions
- Password Access: The Court suggested that individual voters might have password access to verify their data on the EC's encrypted database, addressing privacy concerns while facilitating data verification.
- Deduplication Software: The EC was advised to use deduplication software to eliminate duplicate entries in the electoral rolls, a suggestion supported by Justice Surya Kant.
Legal Proceedings and Court Actions
- SIR Challenges: The Court is examining petitions against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu, with hearings scheduled for November 26.
- High Court Proceedings: The Supreme Court requested High Courts to hold off on related cases pending in their jurisdictions as it is considering the legality of the SIR process.
